This was me and my husbands first cruise, so we had no big expectations. Embarking on the ship was fast and our cabin was ready. We had a balcony room which I was very glad for. It was most enjoyable to sit outside and watch the sites. The room was spacious enough, and the bathroom was also. Very simply decorated, but nice. Our cabin steward was very friendly, and accommodating. Dining experiences: JIJI's Asian restaurant was extremely good, and the service was exceptional. We had the late dining time, which I think was good to avoid children, and allowed to shower after a day of excursions.

There were a lot of children on this cruise, which surprised me! I found that many were very rude, running down the halls, running with food etc, certainly a lack of parental control. There was plenty of choices on the menu, and the desserts were very good. I thought the prices of the drinks were quite high ( $8.75) though.

There were many options in the evening for entertainment. The Casino was quite large, there was a comedy show- which was very good, and there were several different acts over the course of the cruise. There were several bands, and solo music acts. We really enjoyed Robbie Litt in the Red Frog Pub. Several bar areas with live music. There were some dance productions, which were good, and other variety of acts, that were hit and miss. (former Cirque Du soliel act was horrible- likely fired from the Cirque) We booked all of our excursions pre-cruise with people we spoke to on cruise critics- this was an awesome decision, as the excursions were far less money, as well as the groups were very small, which gave us a chance to get to know those on the tour. Read more